Lost
by triple 6
Summary: Arwen reveals a secret to Aragorn that costs him his life...She must face the consequences...
1. Corpse On The Battlefield

I don't own Aragorn, Arwen, etc., or any terms and events from LOTR. Pity...  
  
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Tears fell silently from Arwen's blue eyes, running slowly down her cheeks. She felt sympathy  
  
for all the fallen, all the dead. Pain wracked through her, the pain of losing all, worse than the  
  
pain of a thousand knives stabbed through your heart. As she saw the death around her, the  
  
lifeless bodies, a sob escaped. Brushing her hair back from her face, she stepped forward,  
  
searching for what she did not want to find. When the bright glint of Evenstar shone, glinting in  
  
the moonlight, she knelt slowly, squeezing tight her eyes. Rolling over the dead body, blood  
  
immediately touched her hands, dark and wet. Stroking the face of her beloved, the tears  
  
stopped. Silently lying down on the hard ground, she closed her eyes, sealing her fate. An  
  
eternity with a love that wouldn't die.  
  
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I know this was really short...most of my chapters will probably be this length. I'm not one of the "write-a-lot" people...I can't :) 


	2. Guilt

I don't own any of the characters, terms, etc.  
  
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Arwen opened her eyes slightly, and saw the warm surroundings of Rivendell.  
  
Please let me be in heaven...Although I deserve hell.  
  
When she heard the stern voice of her father, she knew she hadn't died alongside Aragorn on the  
  
battlefield. Fighting the urge to scream out the unfairness of the world, she let it out in a muted  
  
groaning sound. God, how her head hurt. Worse, the image of Aragorn's corpse was imprinted  
  
on her mind, haunting her every thought. She fell back into a deep, fitful sleep, unable to escape  
  
from her sorrow and guilt. When she awoke again, it was from a nightmare that had come to life  
  
a short time ago. Bolting upright, she burst into mass hysteria, berating herself with her  
  
stupidity. It was her fault that Aragorn was dead... She should never have told him about the  
  
pregnancy, or at least lied about it.  
  
That would have hurt him more... and he would know when the child was born.  
  
Plopping herself facedown into the pillow, she tried to think brighter thoughts. When Elrond  
  
strode into the room, she was still in the same position, mentally berating herself. He touched her  
  
lightly on the shoulder, and placed her meal on the small ledge of the window beside her bed.  
  
When he strode out, Arwen flipped over, and grabbed the food, stuffing herself full.  
  
I'll deal with my mistakes later.  
  
Settling down, she tried her hardest to shut out the painful memories.  
  
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R&R, please!!! I'm begging you... 


	3. Awakening

D/N: None of the characters, terms, places, etc., belong to me.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Aragorn, I am with child.  
  
That is excellent! We must celebrate, a grand gathering. Let all of Gondor and Middle-Earth know!  
  
No! We cannot!  
  
Why?  
  
'Tis not our child, Aragorn.  
  
How can that be?  
  
Arwen awoke with a start, crying out Aragorn's name. Breathing heavily, she covered her face  
  
with her hands, rocking back and forth on the bed. She must accept the reality of the situation.  
  
That she had betrayed Aragorn, and that betrayal had sent him to the grave. Perhaps it was never  
  
meant to be, perhaps she had never truly loved him as she thought she did. When Elrond  
  
entered, she was still in the same position. Sitting down beside her, he put an arm around her  
  
shoulder, stroking her hair, speaking softly. Arwen's head eventually lifted, and she smiled sadly  
  
at her father.  
  
"Arwen, you must accept his death. Move on, pave yourself another life leading away from  
  
Aragorn. He wouldn't want you to waste your life on his death. He would only wish for you to  
  
remember him."  
  
This brought more tears to her eyes, how her father did not know she had caused Aragorn's  
  
death. She must tell him, tell all of them, sooner or later. She would honor his memory, and raise  
  
the child inside her as his, a child who had a father who was a legend. But that was the coward's  
  
way out. She would let all know of the child that was not from her marriage, but just not yet. She  
  
was so tired, of running, of the guilt inside her.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ R&R, please! I need to know everyone's opinions!!! 


	4. Facing Her Fear

D/N: None of the characters, terms, places, etc., belong to me.  
  
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Arwen strode purposefully to the head of the table, and faced the gathering of elves. Her thoughts ran frantically through her mind, her emotions panic, relief, and fear all at once. Finally, the crowd settled down and looked towards her. She cleared her throat, and began.  
  
'I...I have something I need you all to know. A truth that I have held in, that may make you hate me, but nevertheless, I will tell you all. Before Aragorn left to war, I told him that I was with child.' Whispers started, like wildfire, but silenced again when they were shushed by Elrond. 'This child I bear, however, is...is not Aragorn's.' Shocked silence greeted her, then conversation arose once more, filling the hall with angry, sad, and confused voices.  
  
Elrond escorted Arwen out of the hall, into the darkening corridors. His brows were furrowed, in anger or disappointment, Arwen could not tell. A deep sigh came from his lips, but nothing more. Tears began to well up in Arwen's eyes, and she spoke once again, in a ragged voice thick with tears. 'I'm so sorry, father. I know that I'm a disgrace, that I have tainted all my marriage stood for. I will leave Rivendell if you wish, at twilight tomorrow.'  
  
Her father was still silent, his eyes solemn, sad. When he still did not speak, she couldn't stand it anymore, escaping to her room. Her footsteps rang through the hallway, and still Elrond did not move nor speak.  
  
In the solitude of her room, Arwen leaped onto her bed, her sounds of anguish muffled by the pillows. A soft knock sounded on the doorway, and someone walked in when Arwen did not reply. A gentle hand rested on her back, and a voice that had haunted Arwen's nightmares and dreams sounded through the room.  
  
'You were very courageous, standing in front of everyone, and telling a painful truth. I will take the blame onto myself, if you wish.'  
  
'It was not entirely your fault. I shouldn't have let it happen. I was married, for heavens' sake!'  
  
'Everyone is waiting for you to appear, for you to reveal that I am the father.'  
  
'Tell them I'm not feeling well. That I won't be coming out of my room.'  
  
'You're being childish. You have to face them.'  
  
'Then why don't you go out there! Leave me alone! Please?"  
  
The figure rose, and silently left the room. Arwen groaned. She had just managed to alienate her child's father, and a good friend. What was she going to do? In an amazingly short amount of time, she had just seen her life fall apart, crashing down to reveal only reality. She had to face her fears, and soon.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The father of Arwen's child will be revealed in the next chapter, hopefully, if everything goes alright... 


	5. Decision

D/N: None of the characters, terms, places, etc., belong to me.  
  
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Footsteps pounded outside Arwen's room, and her father burst inside with only a brief knock, launching into a hurried explanation.  
  
'I'm afraid that they do not have the patience to wait anymore for the news, Arwen. You have to go out there and tell them.'  
  
Arwen bolted from her bed, her eyes wide with fear. Elrond gripped her shoulders, steadying her. With slow movements, Arwen walked out of the room, through empty hallways. When she stepped into the hall where all was gathered, a heavy silence fell onto the crowd. Arwen came up to the head of the table, all eyes following her.  
  
'Greetings. So you all wish to know who the father of my child is. First of all, I will state a simple fact. Almost none of you have the right, nor need to know who the father is. In short, this is none of your business. I chose to tell you all that the child wasn't Aragorn's not because you needed to know, but to fool myself into believing that I had not dishonored Aragorn. So please, just leave my family, friends, and me alone.'  
  
With those words, Arwen stepped away from the table, and immersed herself into the crowd, disappearing from the sight of all the spectators.  
  
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Arwen ran into the surrounding forest, escaping from all the noise and confusion. God, what had persuaded her to tell all of them? She should just have let the people involved know. Tripping over a protruding root, she fell, landing on her knees. Wincing in pain, she sat down, settling beside the offending tree. Head between her hands, trying to decide what she was going to do with the major situation that she had gotten herself into. This was how he found her, murmuring softly to herself, then grumbling about how miserable her life was. Sitting down beside her, the father of her child stroked Arwen's hair softly, giving comfort. Arwen jerked away, placing herself farther away from him.  
  
Looking him in the eye, she asked, 'What do you think I should do? What would Aragorn do?'  
  
'I do not know the answer to your questions, but I can tell you that I would step up to the challenge, and accept whatever hand Fate will deal.'  
  
'Easy for you to say.'  
  
Sighing, Arwen leaned heavily on the other's shoulder, closing her eyes, and made her decision.  
  
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When Arwen swept into the hall, which was still filled to capacity, swarming with curious and impatient spectators, the conversation reached a crescendo, creating a buzz in her ears. Locating her father in the crowd, Arwen stepped to his side.  
  
'Father, I will tell you the answer to everyone's question. But you must not let anyone know!'  
  
'You need not worry, my daughter.'  
  
'The father is ---  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Anyways, leave ya there. Who do u think the father is, eh? :) I'll try to post the next chapter soon. I hope more ppl will review, since it's always nice to have others' opinions. Thanks to all that have reviewed! 


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